Chelsea defender Bashir Humphreys says he's a stronger player for his loan with SC Paderborn last season.

Humphreys has just completed his campaign after taking part for England in the U20 World Cup.

He told chelseafc.com: "Playing in front of huge crowds gives you a feeling not many other things can. It is exhilarating. I am a player that really feeds off the energy and I like to engage with the crowd a lot. It is quite surreal to know that all those fans are turning up to watch you play and so I try not to take it for granted and just soak it in.

"Paderborn were also very big on fan engagement and so it was nice to see and speak to fans at the training ground and also after the games.

"I think the biggest difference for me was more the step into professional football itself rather than it being in Germany, but I have to say that the football culture in Germany is elite, the fans will turn up no matter how bad their team is doing. There is non-stop chanting and drumming.

"Away games were always quite hostile and a lot of the stadiums were always filled so that was just a huge difference to most of my games playing for the Chelsea Under-21s which did not usually have too many fans there. I loved it and the Paderborn fans were always great, they welcomed me and made me feel at home there.

"I learned that it is good to get out of your comfort zone. Going to Germany was definitely that for me, and I have taken so much from it. Adapting to a new culture, new surroundings, different language can be hard but it is definitely worth it and I feel like I just learned so much from the whole experience. The gaffer [Mark Robinson] always said to us that growth only comes from being outside of your comfort zone and I agree 100 per cent.

"Also the value of having good people around you is something I have truly learned from as having my girlfriend with me in Germany every step of the way, as well as my friends and family who all came out to support me definitely had a positive effect on my performance."